Gardai are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to a 16-year-old boy who was arrested after the murder of a 14-year-old boy and an assault on his brother in Dublin last week.
Ben Smyth died in hospital on Monday after being stabbed in the head with a screwdriver last Wednesday night. His brother, David (16), was treated in hospital and released.
The father of the two boys, Peter, is a well-known anti-drugs activist in the Tallaght area.
Supt Tom Conway said that a community meeting to discuss crime in the area, organised for last night, had been cancelled as a mark of respect.
Gardai interviewed a number of witnesses to the attack, and the 16-year-old local boy was arrested twice last week. He is being held in custody on other charges relating to cars and is due to appear in court tomorrow to answer these.
On the evening of the attack the two brothers were sitting on the wall of their home at Cushlawn Park in West Tallaght when they were approached by two youths who asked them for cigarettes. Witnesses said the boys said they had none. "It was just a simple thing. Words were exchanged. It is unbelievable that such a thing can happen", a Garda source said.
The 16-year-old was arrested at his home in Tallaght and questioned by gardai. A second teenager went to Tallaght Garda station voluntarily, gardai said.
Mr Cecil Johnson, a friend, said that the Smyth family had been devastated by the murder. The boy's mother, Fiona, had been visiting her sister when the attack happened, he said.
The Smyths have three other boys and a girl. David Smyth was treated for injuries to his face, stomach and back, Mr Johnson said.
"It's so sad to think there's a man who gives his all to the community and this happens. There is terrible shock within the community. I've never experienced as much shock and revulsion. The response, from all over the city, has been unprecedented."
Mr Johnson criticised the lack of publicity given to the attack, saying that nothing had been known about it until reports appeared in the Sunday newspapers.
Ben had not regained consciousness after the attack, he said. On Saturday night doctors in Beaumont Hospital had told the family that it was "just a matter of time".
The funeral service will take place at 5.30 p.m. tomorrow at the Sacred Heart Church in Killinarden. Burial will be in Deansgrange Cemetery.
